Promise Me
by obbbbaaa
Summary: there was only one thing that Quinn had ever made Rachel promise her,and it was that she would take care of her baby if something happened to her.Character!death.Present time angst /flashback fluff .  rachel plans a way to save the baby from the fabray's
1. Chapter 1

Title: Promise me  
Author: GirlnamedClark  
Rating: T  
Summary: there was only one thing that Quinn had ever made Rachel promise her, and it was that she would take care of her baby if something happened to her. Character!death. Present time (angst)/flashback (fluff).  
Rachel has to find a way to take Quinn's daughter out of the Fabray's hands. Master!plan.  
**Notes:** based on a Veronica Mars' ep. because that's how I role.

Things you should know before you read this:

Rachel and Quinn were a couple during Quinn's pregnancy

They were friends prior to that

One of Rachel's dads is a private detective which means she knows a lot about that area

Lima is in California ;)

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"I need you to promise me" Quinn begged, as she gripped Rachel's shirt when the brunette leaned down to hug her. Rachel simply couldn't look at Quinn when she cried. She couldn't stop the feeling of unbelievable torment when she would see the cheerleader in such state. She had tried to reach for her, hold her, trying to absorb her angst. But that was not what Quinn needed. She needed her to promise her, to guarantee her.

Rachel pulled way, her soft chocolate eyes blurred with hopeless tears because if she promised that to Quinn, it would be like admitting the possibility that Quinn could… Rachel simply couldn't admit that possibility.

"Rachel" Quinn didn't let go of Rachel's shirt, her red and swollen eyes piercing into hers in desperation "I need you to promise me you will take care of her. Whatever happens. Whatever it takes".

"No!" Rachel shook her head vehemently "I will not. Because you're not going to die. You are not. Quinn, you're going to be here for her. You're going to take care of her. And I'll be here to help you, of course, but I don't need to promise you that. You know I'll always be here for you".

"Why don't you just promise me that you'll take care of her?" Quinn demanded, her face furrowed in pain and confusion, her voice squealing as if it was hard for her to have any sound come out. Rachel had never seen her like that. She was genuinely scared. Not only for her life; she was scared for her daughter's.

"Quinn…" Rachel shook her head, begging for comprehension.

"They will get her if I die. They will get her and they will treat her like they treated me" Quinn cried "you know what they did to me. You know. I can't simply let my daughter grow like that".

Rachel turned away from the hospital bed where Quinn was lying and she pressed her hand against her tears, soaking them. She knew how the Fabray's were like. She knew how they had treated Quinn. They physically abused of her, they made her grown in an unhealthy and inhuman environment of fear; they had broken Quinn "you are not going to die. And when you have Spencer we are both going to go to New York, as we planned, remember? You have your scholarship, I might get into Julliard. We are going to go as far away from them as possible, and there's nothing to worry about. So I don't need to promise you that".

"Rachel" Quinn's begging tone – that she had never used before and completely crept Rachel out – made the brunette turn to face her again. Quinn's breath was being cut by heavy sobs and she could barely manage to talk. She extended her hand toward her and Rachel promptly took it. Quinn pulled Rachel and kissed her. The taste of Quinn and tears made Rachel's mind shortcut. Quinn couldn't die. She just couldn't "promise me" the words were whispered against Rachel's lips, as hazel eyes locked deeply into chocolate.

Rachel closed her eyes, fat tears sliding down her cheeks "I promise, Quinn. I'll take care of her. Whatever it takes".

~~~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~~~~~w

_Quinn Fabray, daughter of Russel Fabray and Judy Fabray, passed away yesterday in Lima's central hospital while giving birth to her daughter. Quinn had previously been diagnosed with a high risk pregnancy. The baby was born healthy and is going to live with her grandparents._

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Two months. Two entire months, and the pain hadn't faded away.

The entire world didn't understand. They just didn't. When they squeezed Rachel's shoulder and they told her they did, Rachel wanted to punch them in the face. It wasn't possible that they understood, because nobody loved Quinn Fabray as completely and unconditionally as Rachel did.

Rachel's world had stopped. She didn't feel like she was living any more. She hadn't sung since the day that Quinn had died. She hadn't done anything but to cry alone in her room since the day Quinn had died.

People had tried to reach out for her. They had. Her dads still knocked at every meal and tried to persuade her to come down stairs to eat with them. They wouldn't succeed and they would then just try to persuade her into eat something. Finn visited her frequently. He claimed that he knew how she was feeling, that he had loved Quinn too, but Rachel couldn't believe him. Mercedes, Kurt, Tina, Brittany, Artie, they had all stopped by to offer their support to the brunette, but she simply couldn't stand the sight of someone eyeing her pitifully. So she threw them out and she made sure neither of them ever felt like visiting her again.

When her fathers brought her the news that their school was going to plan a memorial in Quinn's name, Rachel was sick. Everyone standing there, pretending like they had been Quinn's best friends all her life, tearing up and saying cliché sentences.

They made her come. Rachel knew that the pre-fabricated memorial would mean nothing to her; it wasn't as if she felt like it would be an offense to Quinn's memory if she didn't go. She hadn't yet said goodbye to her and she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to do so, but it was certainly not going to be in a memorial planned by hypocritical people.

But no one had told her that they were going to show a video in Quinn's memory. When Rachel had been informed of such a thing, she felt a panic attack over coming her. It was hard to hear talking about Quinn, but actually seeing her… she couldn't take it.

She looked at herself in the mirror, when she escaped to the school's bathroom, and she tried to remind herself how to breathe. She had been doing that a lot lately. Her panic attacks had started the same night Quinn had died and they hadn't stopped since then.

"Are you okay?" Rachel almost jumped at the sound of a voice. She didn't know the girl, and yet she was offering her most compassionate expression. It was making her more and more upset.

Rachel escaped outside of the bathroom and instead of going back to the where the memorial was being held, she turned on her heels and walked in the opposite direction, toward the parking lot. Her dads were still at the memorial and they had the car keys, but Rachel figured she could walk home. Fresh air would do her good. She hadn't left home in weeks.

As she walked across the parking lot, her arms crossed to protect her from the light breeze of the beginning of the evening, she saw a figure of a man, far ahead, covered in the shadows of a three, on the small grove behind the school. It seemed like him. Rachel stopped to glare, unsure if it was really him. She hadn't seen him since the funeral. She actually hadn't heard of him since then, as well. He had completely vanished.

Uncertain, Rachel approached the wood, knowing it was fairly stupid of her to do such a thing at night. It could be anybody. But it wasn't. Her heart tightened as she realized she was right and it _was him. _

"Noah" she said, softly. He had been staring at her blankly since she had appeared on the parking lot. He was expelling thick grey smoke and only then Rachel realized he was smoking.

"Can I?" she asked, pointing toward the cigarette he was holding. He handed it to her and she drew a quick puff, handing it back to him. She hadn't smoked ever because of her voice, but she just had felt an unbelievable urge to do so at that moment.

"Can you believe them?" Puck asked, in a low, resentful tone "they all used to whisper behind her back. She died and then, suddenly, everyone loved her?".

Rachel quietly stared at him, knowing that she had been wrong those two months. She wasn't alone in the world. There was someone that really _understood _what she had been going through, because there was someone that had loved Quinn as much as she had. And that person was standing just before her, looking as angry and tired and messed up as she felt.

"Where have you been?" Rachel believed that was the first sentence she had uttered that night.

"Around" he answered, vaguely. Breaking things, getting into fights, being arrested; he didn't say.

"How have you been?" Rachel asked, her chocolate soft eyes fixed on his face.

"I think you know exactly how I feel" Puck replied. He threw the cigarette to the ground, pressing his shoe over it, avoiding Rachel's gaze "they don't even fucking let me see her".

Rachel bit her lower lip. She knew that they hadn't, because it had been the only time she had stepped out of her house voluntary and they had denied that to her as well. She had learned from her dads that they had named her Faith Fabray, against Puck's will of naming her Spencer, which was the name Quinn always had called her.

"We have to do something about it" it was Puck who spoke it, but Rachel was thinking it too.

"I know".

~~~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~~~~~w

**How is that for a start? **

**I just wanted to warn you what's this story is going to be like. Spencer will disappear and there will be an investigation. Rachel may or may not be involved with the disappearing of the baby.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Where is Quinn_? Rachel asked herself, as she looked down to her watch only to realize that the girl was half an hour late for their national's general rehearsal. Mr. Schue had already given up on waiting for her and he ordered everyone to get in their places.

Rachel climbed to the top of the tiny bleachers on the stage of the auditorium everyone else – since last year, after they won at Nationals, Glee club had been receiving new members, and now was constituted of 26 people – where she could be best seen and heard. Mercedes was the one who had got the solo for that song, but that didn't mean that Rachel had to blend in with everyone else. Just because she didn't have the solo it didn't mean she couldn't stand out.

Mr Schue directed them as they started singing. Rachel was not made to sing in the background, but she had learned that it would provide her a better sense of harmony, which would come up handy if she ever got accepted to Julliard and actually wanted to pursue her dream of being a Broadway star. Plus, not getting the solo meant that she could climb to the top of the bleachers. There, she and Quinn could be do almost anything without Mr Schue noticing.

And, by the way, where was Quinn Fabray?

Rachel suddenly noted that Puck wasn't there as well. Would they be together? They were not dating anymore, and Quinn had told Rachel that Puck was the platonic love of her life, but you never knew with those two.

Suddenly and startling Rachel, she felt a tug on her leg. She was about to scream and shake her leg until whatever it was holding her leg let her go, when she looked down and, between the bleachers gaps, she saw Quinn's face, looking up at her, one finger over her lips. Rachel had to press her hand to her chest to try to calm herself down. What was Quinn doing bellow the bleachers?

"Come here" Quinn mouthed, gesturing. Rachel looked up, anxiously. Mr Schue wasn't paying her any attention, so she briskly jumped off the bleachers and crawled bellow them to meet Quinn. Quinn was waiting for her with an expectant smile.

"Where have you been?" Rachel asked reprehensively, knowing that, with the singing that was going on, no one would ever hear them talking "you're late and you almost missed the rehearsal. It's our last opportunity to polish our performances so that we are able…"

Rachel stopped talking when she felt Quinn's index finger against her lips "I went to the pharmacy".

"Why would you?..." Rachel's question was lost in her mouth, as realization hit her. They had talked about this before. How Quinn hadn't been getting her period. Quinn was the one suggesting that she might be pregnant. Rachel was surprised by her nonchalance and asked her what would her parents do if she was indeed pregnant. Quinn had replied that they were completely against abortion and that they would hate her for being pregnant, but they would have to accept it. _Plus_, Quinn added, excitedly, _Puck's pool cleaning business is expanding and he said that we could rent a house. And I still have the money I inherited from my grandmother. _

_I thought you couldn't touch the money until you were overaged, _Rachel had noted, frowning confusedly. Quinn had shaken her head with an amused smile _guess who's turning eighteen in two months._

Quinn raised a small object that had the form of a pen and Rachel's eyes widened "well?" she asked, expectantly.

"I don't know yet" Quinn dropped her eyes to the object "it says here that it takes about five minutes".

"You don't know yet?" Rachel cried.

"No, I'm waiting for this thingy to tell me. I came straight from the bathroom" Quinn explained, practically.

"How accurate are these things, really?" Rachel asked, as she tried to reach for the pregnancy stick, but Quinn stopped her.

"Hey, remember what I've just done to this?" Quinn asked, sarcastically, arching a brow in a meaningful away. Rachel retracted.

"Oh. Gross".

"They are not one hundred percent accurate, but they're enough" Quinn replied, checking her watch "oh God. Twenty seconds".

"What are we expecting to see? A word, a plus sign, what?" Rachel inquired, leaning closer to Quinn, their heads touching as they both looked down at the stick.

"I think it's a pink line for a positive result" Quinn answered, now anxiety transpiring on her voice. Rachel looked up to the feet of the people singing, nervously.

"Five seconds" Quinn whispered, now completely breathless.

Rachel mentally counted. _Four, three, two, one._

"Quinn?" Rachel called and the blonde looked up, confusedly "whatever the result is going to be, I'm here for you. I just wanted you to know that".

Quinn's lips stretched on a genuine affective smile "I know, Rach".

They both looked down and there's a moment of silence. They both stare at the thin, though clear, pink line, as if making sure they were not hallucinating.

Rachel squealed and Quinn laughed as she was being choked by Rachel's arms "you're having a baby!".

~~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~w

"Are you sure you can get it by tomorrow?" Rachel asked, anxiously eyeing Puck, who was standing up on her bedroom, looking through the window to the street.

"Yeah" he said, turning around, though his tone didn't sound convincing to Rachel's ears "I'll try to get it tonight. She's not going to be home, so…"

"Are you sure you want to do it this way?" Rachel asked, hesitantly, captivating his eyes toward her direction "I mean, there's other ways to get the money, we don't have to…"

"No, Rachel, this way is just fine. It's my father's money, anyway" he told her reassuringly, as he moved toward the bed where Rachel was sitting. For a moment, he remained standing up, looking down at Rachel, his eyes revealing a mix of compassion and affection. Puck had not been handling _this entire thing_ right, but since he had reunited with Rachel, he had been doing much better. Rachel understood him and, not only, she was ready and willing to help him. Not _help _him like everyone else was trying to by recommending him to see a shrink, or giving him comforting pats on his back; she was going to help him with what he _really_ wanted. Rachel was his only ally in what he had promised himself to make his life mission: getting his daughter.

"Are we clear about our plan?" Rachel asked, again anxiously, her puppy chocolate eyes staring up at him as he thoughtfully glared her "Puck, I really need you to promise me that you'll stick to what we agreed. I don't want you to do anything crazy or rash".

Puck sat down by her side, his knees slightly brushing against hers "Rachel, have I told you how much I appreciate what you are doing? Have I thanked you enough?" he asked, really wanting to know the answer. Because as many times he could utter _thank you_, he would feel forever grateful for what Rachel was doing and he would always feel like he couldn't pay her back for it.

Rachel smiled, sadly. Puck knew what she was telling him with that gesture. She was telling him that he didn't have to thank her, because she wasn't doing thid just for him. Puck was completely aware of that fact. Rachel and Puck were good friends – Quinn had brought them together – but Rachel's main concern wasn't Puck's well-being. Her main concern was Spencer Fabray.

"I'm so thankful…" Puck mumbled anyway, and then he lifted his eyes to Rachel, by his side "and I know Quinn would be too. She is".

He immediately saw the tears invoked by the mentioning of Quinn's name in Rachel's eyes. Her lower lip quivered and she looked away. Puck reached for her hand, squeezing it softly.

Rachel dropped her head, not wanting to let Puck see her cry. Puck gently brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. He pressed his finger bellow her chin and made her turn her face toward him. Then, gently, he leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft, caring kiss.

Rachel closed her eyes, tears sliding down her cheeks, but she let him kiss her. For a moment.

"Noah" she then called, in a whisper.

He straightened himself up, blinking confusedly and embarrassedly. His face turned of a deep shade of red, as he turned himself around "I'm sorry. God. I'm so sorry, Rachel. I didn't mean to… I just… I'm having a hard time dealing with this. I apologize".

"It's okay" Rachel said "Noah, it's okay. I understand".

~~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~w

It was not the first time that Sheriff Lamb appeared at the Berry's door, unfortunately. Robert sighed heavily, before he opened the door and tried to look as welcoming and inviting as the smug and completely obnoxious man allowed him to.

Rachel was a good girl. She was. She wasn't the type of getting into trouble. She did what every other teenager did, she just happened to be brought home by Lamb more than the rest because Sheriff Lamb completely hated her because of the fact that she was the daughter of the best private detective in Lima, and the man that constantly resolved the Sheriffs cases making look like… well, an idiot.

"What do I owe the pleasure, Sheriff Lamb?" Robert asked, forcing his upbeat tone, as he leaned against the door frame with a grin. Behind the Sheriff was Deputy Sacks that was probably even dumber than the Sheriff himself.

"I'm here to see your daughter" Lamb answered him, not bothering to return the pleasantries.

"Well, I'm not sure if she's home" Robert told him, holding his forced smile, knowing perfectly that Rachel was upstairs, just like she had been for the past months.

"Berry, this is not a joke. The Fabray's baby is missing".

Robert's expression immediately changed and his body tensed, as he straightened himself up "what?".

"Faith Fabray is missing and so is Noah Puckerman. Now get your daughter in here, right now, so that I know that she's not missing as well" Lamb ordered his tone rising slightly.

Robert glared the Sheriff frowning, before he stepped back inside his house. Anxiety overwhelmed him as he realized that he hadn't actually seen Rachel since lunch "Rachel?". She couldn't… she wouldn't…

"Yeah?" her voice made him relax automatically, relieved.

"Can you come downstairs for a minute, honey?" he called, meeting the Sheriff at the entrance of the house again.

Rachel appeared, with a careful expression, eyeing her father and then the Sheriff and the Deputy "what's this about?".

Robert inspected his daughter closely. As much as he liked to deny it, there was a perfectly valid chance that his daughter was involved in this. He knew how close she and Quinn were. He knew how upset her daughter had been after the girl had died and he knew how upset she was when the Fabray's got Quinn's daughter. Rachel, though, seemed oblivious to the fact why the Sheriff was there, but Robert knew her enough to know that she was a v_ery _good actress. Almost 18 years hadn't allowed him to catch on her bluffing, yet.

"Honey, Puck is missing" Robert told her softly, staring closely at her face for any signal that she already knew about this. She didn't show it, as her mouth slightly opened in confusion.

"What do you mean, missing?".

"He's taken…" he started, but Lamb cut him, impatiently.

"He has kidnapped the Fabray's baby" he paused and then arched one of his dark brows "but you already knew that, didn't you?".

Rachel frowned and looked at him confusedly "what?".

The Sheriff sighed in impatience as he stepped inside the house with his handcuffs "Rachel Berry, you are under arrest as an accomplice in the abduction of Faith Fabray".

Rachel looked astonished and she searched for her father eyes. Robert seemed to have frozen in surprise as Lamb made his way past him.

"Is this really necessary?" he asked, annoyed, as he stared down at the handcuffs "she'll come with you voluntarily, plus, you have no proofs against her".

"Actually, we have something" Lamb informed him, as he turned Rachel around and handcuffed her without ceremonies.

Robert threw a furious glare toward Rachel, but she shook her head, tears invading her eyes "dad, I didn't do anything" she cried.

"I will be the judge of that" Lamb told her, hurrying her toward the door.

"This is ridiculous" Rachel announced to thin air, seeing that she was left alone in the dark interrogation room, her hands still cuffed. She shifted on her chair, uncomfortably, but then she looses balance and almost falls sideways into the floor. She felt revolted, annoyed, mad, and she really wanted to scratch her forehead.

She let her head fall forward, resting in against the wood table in front of her and she sighed. She felt unbelievable uncomfortable with the possibility that someone was staring at her through the dark mirror window. She wondered if that was a method of interrogation. Let the interrogated person waiting there, not knowing what they wanted from them, driving them crazy, until they confessed to any crime they did or did not commit.

When Rachel finally heard the door behind her being pushed opened, she straightened himself up, immediately, to see Sheriff Lamb, her father and Cliff – her father's friend and lawyer – step inside the room.

"I'm sorry about the wait, we had to wait for your lawyer to arrive so that I can talk to you" Sheriff Lamb announced, in a tone that indicated that he felt like he didn't have to give you any explanations.

"I'm sorry, but my wife thinks it's funny to hide my car keys" Cliff said and Lamb stared at him weirdly. Rachel didn't take it seriously, because she knew Cliff and his odd sense of humor. Plus, she had more to worry about "first and foremost, Sheriff, you'll have to take her handcuffs off. It's completely ridiculous".

The Sheriff stared at him arching his brow as if to make sure everyone understood that he was the one in charge in that room. But then, slowly and reluctantly, he freed Rachel from the handcuffs.

"What was that about?" she asked to the Sheriff, mentioning the line-up that she had been put through, as she massaged her bruised wrists.

"You were just indentified by a merchant from a jewelry store owner from Carmel" Lamb announced, casually.

Rachel blushed as she dropped her eyes to the ground "oh".

"What do you mean, oh?" her father snapped, madly, eying her unbelievably "I was expecting rage, shock, indignation!".

Rachel stared at him apologetically, before turning to Cliff "I know what they must be thinking. But it's not like that".

"The why don't you explain me what were you doing in the possession of a very valuable pair of earrings that belonged to Chrystal Puckerman, Noah Puckerman's stepmother, and what entitled you to sell the piece of jewelry that didn't belong to you for…" Lamb checked his notes "five thousand dollars?" Lamb defied, sitting against the table, crossing his arms and feigning interest.

"First of all, I didn't know it belonged to Chrystal. I suspected it, but I was never told so" Rachel explained, practically. Robert seemed close to explode and she avoided his gaze carefully "secondly, I only sold it because Puck asked me to do it".

"But, Rachel, why would you do so?" Robert asked, exasperatedly.

"What do you mean, why she did it?" Lamb stood up "she sold it to finance his escape. That's obvious".

"No!" Rachel cried in despair, shaking her head "that was not where it was supposed to go. We had a plan".

"I can see that" the Sheriff commented cynically, walking around her. She turned in her chair to continue to glare at him, despaired for him to believe her.

"No, that's not what I meant. We were going to hire a lawyer, a good lawyer" Cliff feigned offense "Puck was going to try to get the custody of the baby. That was what the money was for. I swear" she eyed her father, who still stared at her suspiciously.

"Now, let me tell you what I think. I think you sold Chrystal Puckerman's earrings so that Noah Puckerman could run away with Faith Fabray…"

"Spencer Fabray" Rachel corrected between her teeth, her eyes falling to the ground and her shaky hands grabbing the sides of the chair she was sitting on.

"… and you stayed behind to look all innocent and naïve, so that we thought he had played you into helping him without you really knowing what he meant".

"That is a lot of thinking for you to do. You might tire yourself" Rachel joked, humorlessly, because she just hated Sheriff Lamb. He always got out of his way to catch Rachel doing something she wasn't supposed to do.

Rachel almost jumped when her father's fist hit the table, provoking a loud noise "this is not a joke, Rachel! This is serious. Do you know how serious it is to be accused of accessory in a kidnap or even kidnap itself?" Rachel flinched at her father's rage and he softened "straighten up" he ordered her, sucking his lower lip, regretting that he had lost his temper "now, what Puck did was wrong and I don't want you to think otherwise. The Fabray's have the legal custody of the baby. So you are going to cooperate with the Sheriff and you are going to answer every question he has, do you understand?".

Rachel stared hardly against her father, tears prickling her eyes. She knew he was right, this was a serious business. But it sickened her the thought of helping anyone to get Spencer back to the Fabray's. She lowered her head and, against every instinct in her body, she nodded.

"She will cooperate, Sheriff" Cliff announced, cheerfully, as if announcing the gender of a baby.

"Great" Lamb replied coldly, because, make no mistake, if she didn't, he would be sure she would suffer the consequences.

At that moment, Sacks opened the door of the interrogation room "we have a couple of visitors, Sheriff" he announced.

Rachel's jaw tightened when she watched a painfully familiar blonde woman and a man walking inside the room. She didn't even notice the man that followed them inside, as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Cliff and Robert were asked to leave. Judy Fabray walked determinedly inside the room throwing Rachel a look, as if she was something rather disgusting on her shoe. Rachel didn't mind it; she was actually used to it coming from Judy. It was impressive how people that looked so much alike could be so different. Tears prickled her eyes and she felt herself quiver.

She dropped her eyes, not wanting to look at the woman who reminded her so much of Quinn. Her blonde hair, her hazel eyes, her overall facial features… it was too painful. There was also the fact that Rachel felt like she had never hated someone or something that much.

"She knows where that boy is, I'm telling you!" Judy cried to Lamb.

Lamb lifted his palms authoritatively, quieting her. "Mrs Fabray, I understand the stress you've been going through, but I must ask you to let me do my job."

Rachel's eyes were still firmly fixed on the ground when a pair of bowling shoes appeared in her vision and she knew they couldn't be Russell's. She lifted her gaze to see a tall, skinny, dark haired, goofy looking man, who smiled down to her. Vinnie Vanlowe.

Rachel knew Vinnie since the day she was born. He was a private investigator, and he and Robert had shared an office for years. Vinnie was hard to describe, but if Rachel really had to use one word for the purpose, she would use man-child. She didn't dislike him entirely, though.

"Hey Rachel. What's up?" he greeted her, as if they were just meeting each other at a café or something.

"Well, you know. I didn't imagine there'd be air conditioning, but other than that, this is pretty much how I pictured hell," she replied dryly. "What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked, frowning, already suspicious about what was going to be his answer.

Vinnie Vanlowe was known to be the private detective with the lowest morals in the town. That had been one of the many reasons Robert had stopped working with him, that and because, after a while, Vinnie went from entertaining and interesting, to completely unbearable. Rachel always thought of him like the "cool uncle," even though he was only good in small doses.

"Big case, missing person." He gestured with his fingers to indicate he was after money, primarily. "You know the drill. So where's the boy, Rachel?" he asked, casually.

"Alright, alright, I'll ask the questions here" Lamb cut in. His loathing of private detectives included Vinnie. "Mr Fabray, a word of advice: private investigators only make the work of law enforcement officers harder. Now I have to ask you all to step outside so that I can have a little talk with Miss Berry here."

"Keep us posted on any developments," Russell requested, simply, not daring to glance toward the girl who was still sitting on the chair by the table, with her back turned toward him. Judy, though, before leaving the room, made sure to throw Rachel one of her scornful glares.

The Sheriff nodded and then they were all alone. Lamb rested a pad of paper and a pen in front of her, on the table.

"Write down anything you can think of about Noah Puckerman. Secret credit cards, fake IDs, hiding spots, places he always wanted to visit, his favorite restaurants, friends out of town, everything."

Rachel reluctantly picked up the pen but paused, looking up at the Sheriff. "Let me ask you a question. Do you think the baby is better now, with Puck, or with the Fabrays? You know what they did to Quinn. You couldn't do anything because Russell Fabray is too important in Lima, but you knew the kind of abuses they put her through…"

"Despite my thoughts about the subject, what you're friend is doing is wrong. The Fabrays have the right to order him arrested and they have the right to Faith Fabray. Now, start writing. You are not going home until that pad is full. And then, if I happen to discover that you left anything out, I will make it my personal mission to see you in prison as an accessory."

Rachel sighed. She really hated this, but she had no choice. Unenthusiastically, she wrote down everything she could think of, leaving nothing out.

The Sheriff's department's office was quiet when Rachel was finally let go. She raised her eyes to the clock fixed over the door and realized it was almost ten o'clock. Three hours she had been in the interrogation room. Her head was aching and she was feeling completely exhausted. The thought of the comfort of her warm sheets was the only motivation for her to keep walking.

The way she was feeling, the last person she wanted to deal with was Vinnie Vanlowe.

He was waiting for her outside the building, chewing gum, leaning against his car, his hands in his pockets. Rachel sighed heavily "What are you still doing here?".

"I'm waiting for you, silly" he said in the jovial tone he used with everybody, as if they were all his old friends.

"What do you want?" Rachel asked, testily, crossing her arms.

He turned his head and spat the gum he had been chewing out before facing her again with a confident smile. "I thought I would give you the opportunity to tell me where the boy is, save us all some time and trouble, and, you know," he shrugged, dismissively "earn some karma points."

Rachel stared at him like he was crazy. "I don't know where he is," she repeated for the twentieth time that night. "I have no idea where Puck is. And, even if I did, you would probably be…" she rolled her eyes, pretending to be counting "the last person I would tell."

"Did I hear that right?" Vinnie teased. "Did you just insinuate that you would tell Osama Bin Laden where the boy is before you would tell me? Because back in my day we had a little thing called patriotism".

Rachel rolled her eyes in annoyance and she tried to walk away, knowing that a conversation with Vinnie Vanlowe was one of the most stupid things she could engage in. Vinnie grasped her arm, softly. "Okay, okay…" he conceded. "Let's make this fair for you. The old couple"- Rachel almost chuckled when she realized Vinnie was referring to the Fabrays- "is paying me big money. Let's say… 2 thousand dollars for the information"-he winked in a way he was sure was charming. "The karma points are yours to keep and if you act now I'll throw a free set of steak knifes."

Rachel sighed, lowering her head, as if she didn't know what else to do. She knew he didn't understnand she wasn't involved for her own gain. She straightened herself up and she repeated, using fake sign language as if that would help Vinnie to understand what she was saying "I don't know where he is."

"Alright" he smiled, as if this conversation was the most stimulating thing he had done in a while. "You can't blame a guy for trying" Rachel was about to turn away to leave when his voice called her again. "But seventy hours from now, I'm gonna have that kid back. And you'll wish you had those steak knives".

"Hey Rachel? You know what would make me happy? If I got home in time for dinner" Quinn announced teasingly, as she eyed the brunette at the wheel.

Rachel gasped, feigning offense. "I can't believe how ungrateful you are. I've just voluntarily offered my time to drive you to your doctor's appointment and you can't stop complaining about my driving."

"Oh, don't pretend like you're so selfless. You wanted to see the first ultrasound. Admit it." Quinn eyed her amusedly. "Besides, I'm not complaining about your overall driving, I'm just saying you could accelerate a little bit." Quinn gestured to the window. "Look, Grandpa just passed us. I think I'm going to go into labor before you get me home."

"Haha, being careful is funny" Rachel replied sardonically. "Now, shut up. You're distracting me and I don't want to crash."

"Well, I don't think it's possible to crash at 20 mph," Quinn commented, looking through the window. Who would know that Rachel's quirks that annoyed her so much two years ago were now some of the things about her that Quinn most appreciated. Rachel was Rachel, no matter how people felt about it. She was not going to speed up just so she didn't look dorky; if she was .comfortable driving at 20 mph, that was how fast she was going to drive.

Suddenly, red and blue lights flashed into the car and the Sheriff's deputy's car behind them ordered her to pull over. Rachel looked through the rearview mirror, confusedly, as she pulled over.

"What the hell?" Quinn exclaimed, equally confused, as the car stopped behind them.

Rachel watched as the car's door opened and the Sheriff appeared from inside, holding his flashlight and a smug smile. "Shit. It's Lamb."

Quinn turned to look through the back window, frowning. "I really don't understand what that man has against you, but it's really starting to piss me off."

"Shhh, just keep quiet. I'll talk. You know he's always trying to find a reason to take me in, and your mouth could do the trick," Rachel warned her, as she reached for her wallet where she had her license.

Lamb took his time approaching the car, as if relishing every moment of the anxiety he was causing. When he finally reached Rachel's window he slightly bent over to look through it, pointing his flashlight directly at her face, making her squint, and then at Quinn.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here."

"How are you tonight, Sheriff?" Quinn asked in a subtly provocative tone.

Rachel glared at her, before turning back to Lamb. "Is there anything wrong, Sheriff?"

Lamb's eyes lingered on Rachel, before he held his hand open. "License, please," he requested simply.

Rachel hurried to hand him her driver's license. He seemed disappointed that she had one. He handed it back to her, calmly, pointing the flashlight directly into her face again. "Are you aware that this particular road has a minimum speed of 30 miles per hour?" he asked, arching his eyebrows seriously.

Rachel's jaw dropped to the ground. "You're actually going to give me a ticket because I was going too slow," she half stated, half asked. She knew Lamb would do it. By her side, Quinn had broken into laughter, dropping her head backwards against the car's seat.

Ignoring Quinn, Lamb eyed Rachel in annoyance. "Don't you take road safety seriously? It's a serious thing, Miss Berry." Rachel couldn't believe that Quinn was the one laughing hilariously when she was the one being lectured about not taking things seriously.

"Yes, I understand and agree. I apologize for driving too slow. I won't let that happen again"

Lamb stared at her for a moment, before continuing. "Unfortunately"-yes, he had said _unfortunately_- "this is your first time being pulled over. I'm going to let you go with a warning, for now."

"I appreciate that, Sheriff," Rachel replied.

"But you've been warned now. Next time I won't be so lenient."

"I understand. I appreciate your compassion," Rachel nodded, eager for him to leave. He nodded and without saying anything else, walked back into his car.

"What an ass," Quinn commented, as she watched the Sheriff get inside his car. Rachel sighed in relief, as she turned her car back on. "Road security is a serious thing" she mimicked.

"Just forget him. You know he hates my father."

"Right. I thought that a town's Sheriff would be mature enough to be able to separate his personal feelings from his profession. But what am I thinking, it's Lamb we're talking about…" Quinn shook her head disapprovingly.

Rachel got back onto the road. Quinn watched as she struggled with pressing the accelerator harder than she was used to. She was eyeing the speedometer anxiously. "A little bit more…" she mumbled under her breath.

"Do you want me to drive?" Quinn asked, because she could see Rachel was very nervous about speeding up.

"No, no, it's okay… I just have to get used to this."

The Sheriff car had already disappeared when both Quinn and Rachel heard a scratching against the side of the car. It was almost like they had run over something, but whatever it was it had escaped a full contact crash. Rachel immediately pressed the brakes.

"Oh my God. Did you see that? Oh my God." Rachel was freaking out.

"I didn't see anything".

"It all happened to fast. It jumped on the road, I couldn't stop the car fast enough." Rachel looked nervously through the window. "Oh my God, I just ran over a deer."

"A deer?" Quinn leaned over Rachel to see if what she was telling her was true. There was nothing on the road. Whatever Rachel had bumped into, had escaped inside the woods by the roadside.

"Yes. I saw it. It was brown and… you know…" Rachel gestured something that Quinn didn't understand. "Oh my God, I have to see if it's okay." Rachel opened her door, stepping outside.

"Rachel, there's no deer in Lima…" Quinn tried to call her, but the girl was already disappearing inside the woods "Where are you going?..." she hurried to unbuckle her seatbelt and followed the brunette. "Rachel! Come back here. Are you crazy?"

Quinn's legs were longer, and she was able to catch Rachel quickly, as the girl desperately searched for the injured deer.

"You can't just go inside the woods at night. What are you thinking?".

"I need to see if it's okay," Rachel repeated, not looking at her, bending down and starting to call the animal.

"Look, whatever it is, it ran away. I'm sure it's okay," Quinn tried to reason, wearily.

"It might have internal injuries, Quinn!" Rachel cried exasperatedly.

Quinn stood there, glaring at Rachel, as if she was the most incomprehensible thing she had ever faced. And she probably was. Rachel didn't seem to mind her stare, as she continued her search. Finally, Quinn sighed, and she gave up, because she knew that if she didn't let Rachel try to find the poor injured "deer," she would never shut up about it.

Quinn sat on the edge of the road. "Don't go out of my sight, okay?" she called to Rachel and Rachel only nodded.

She let Rachel take her time. Rachel's compassion and the fact that she actually _cared _were one of the many things that Quinn envied in her, along with her talent and her smile. It was hard to be annoyed at Rachel when she was so perfect and adorable and a genuinely good person. Quinn glared at Rachel the entire time, deep in her thoughts, thinking about how she had gotten there – not specifically that place at that night – but with Rachel as her best friend. She was so thankful about how things had turned out. Rachel made her a better person. Rachel taught her things everyday, without even realizing it. Rachel made her happy and Rachel was everything that Quinn could have asked to have by her side during what she could predict to be a hard year to come.

Eventually, defeated, Rachel came back to the edge of the road, her face expressing the frustration caused by her half hour long failed search.

"I can't find him." Quinn smiled. Now it had turned into a _him? _She knew that in the near future Rachel would start referring to him as Bambi. "What else can I do?" she asked miserably.

Quinn grinned in affection, as she held out her hand to Rachel. "Come here," she mumbled softly. Rachel took her hand and let Quinn pull her down to sit by her side. Rachel sighed heavily as she rested her head on Quinn's shoulder, and the blonde touched her face. They stayed like that, watching the woods, for several minutes.

"Didn't you have to be home for dinner?" Rachel finally asked, breaking the heavy, meaningful silence that had settled between them.

"Well, after the pregnancy thing, I think it's hard for my parents to be mad at me for not for not making it to dinner," she answered slightly sarcastically.

"I think it would be best if you didn't provoke them," Rachel commented quietly.

Quinn turned her head to look at her "Do you want to be somewhere else?" she asked.

Rachel bit her lower lip before answering bluntly "No."

"Me neither. I'm right where I want to be."


End file.
